Travellers will be able to fly between Sydney and New York in just ۱۸ hours from mid-۲۰۲۸ when Qantas launches its second ultra long-haul route, cutting at least three hours from the travel time.
The route will be the second in Qantas’ Project Sunrise expansion plans, after new Sydney to London direct flights to begin in October ۲۰۲۷.
It would be the first commercial direct flight from Kingsford-Smith airport to New York’s JFK airport. Qantas currently offers flights from Sydney to New York with a stopover in Los Angeles, which take ۲۱ hours and typically cost more than $۱,۴۰۰ one way or more than $۱,۹۰۰ return.
Qantas has not disclosed prices for the Project Sunrise routes. It has previously said ticket prices are facing upward pressure.
Tickets for the Sydney to New York route are set to go on sale in August ۲۰۲۷, Qantas said. It has not specified which month flights will begin. When it announced the London route launch date, the company said it would reveal launch timings in ۲۰۲۷.
Qantas is planning to unveil more ۲۰-hour direct flights from Perth in future but has abandoned references to previous hopes to run routes from Brisbane or Melbourne.
The company has ordered ۱۲ Airbus A۳۵۰–۱۰۰۰ULRs, fitted with extra fuel tanks, which can fly over ۱۶,۰۰۰km and up to ۲۲ hours nonstop. The first is expected to arrive in Australia in April ۲۰۲۷.
The planes were specifically designed to fly up to ۲۲ hours nonstop for Qantas, to complete some of the longest commercial flights in the world. A test model in July completed a ۲۴-hour, ۲۴-minute flight from Melbourne to Airbus’ manufacturing facility in Toulouse, France, believed to be the longest-ever commercial flight.
Only ۱۴۰ of the A۳۵۰–۱۰۰۰ULR’s ۲۳۸ seats are standard economy. It contains six first-class suites, ۵۲ business suites and ۴۰ premium economy seats.
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The company expects the Project Sunrise flights and sustained premium flight demand to increase its earnings by $۴۰۰m over the next five years, with profit margins to rise from today’s rate of ۴% to ۱۰%.
Qantas said demand for its flights in and out of New York have doubled since ۲۰۲۳. Short-term US arrivals to Australia picked up ۴% in the year to July ۲۰۲۶ compared with the year prior, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
However, Australians travelling and returning from the US dropped ۹% in the same period.
Qantas’ chief executive, Vanessa Hudson, said the flights could change the way Australians travel.
‘“Reaching New York non-stop completes a vision we set out many years ago, and it’s a moment of enormous pride for the thousands of our people who have been working hard to make Project Sunrise a reality,” she said.
The company is training pilots on its A۳۵۰ simulator and is teaching engineers about the new aircraft. The company says more than ۳۶۰ pilots and ۱,۲۰۰ cabin crew will be trained to operate the aircraft by the time the entire fleet has arrived.
